Indian police arrest journalist on charges of alleged extortion and blackmail

Committee to Protect Journalists Indian regional police arrested freelance journalist Vinod Verma on October 27, 2017, on claims that he used a sex tape to extort and blackmail a minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Chhattisgarh region-- claims the journalist denies, according to news reports. A committee member from the BJP in Chhattisgarh lodged a complaint against Verma on October 26, alleging an anonymous threat to release objectionable videos of the minister if he did not pay hush money, according to The Indian Express, which quoted unnamed sources from…Read more

2017 Astor Award Commemorative Ceremony in Karachi

  Owais Aslam Ali, Chairman of the Pakistan Press Foundation, accepted the 2017 Astor Award for press freedom at a commemorative ceremony hosted by The Center for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA)  in Karachi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZaaf_AvMYRead more

UK Foreign Secretary announces free speech funding

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has today (Thursday) committed UK support for freedom of expression projects in countries where press freedom is curtailed. Today, on the International Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists, Mr Johnson has committed to spending £1m over the next financial year on projects that will enable journalists and media professionals to promote their own free press and uphold human rights. Funding will be available for press freedom projects in countries where media freedom is under significant pressure. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: Freedom of expression is a…Read more

Theme for CHOGM 2018: ‘Towards a Common Future’.

Young people will be at the heart of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London next April. That’s according to the UK prime minister, Theresa May, as she launched the theme for CHOGM 2018, ‘Towards a Common Future’. She set out four main goals for the biennial meeting: prosperity by boosting intra-Commonwealth trade; security by greater cooperation to tackle global terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime; fairness through promoting greater diversity and good governance; and sustainability by building resilience among small, developing and vulnerable states to deal with climate change. “For the…Read more

Indian police arrest journalist on charges of alleged extortion and blackmail

Indian regional police arrested freelance journalist Vinod Verma on October 27, 2017, on claims that he used a sex tape to extort and blackmail a minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Chhattisgarh region-- claims the journalist denies, according to news reports. A committee member from the BJP in Chhattisgarh lodged a complaint against Verma on October 26, alleging an anonymous threat to release objectionable videos of the minister if he did not pay hush money, according to The Indian Express, which quoted unnamed sources from Raipur police in the…Read more

Pakistan: Investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani injured in attack

On October 27, 2017 Ahmad Noorani, an investigative journalist of the English-language daily The News International was assaulted by unidentified men in broad daylight at a busy intersection in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. Noorani's car was intercepted by six assailants riding on three motorbikes. They severely beat Noorani and his driver with iron rods after throwing out the keys from the ignition. The attackers attempted to snatch Noorani's mobile phone but failed. The attackers later escaped in motorcycles that did not have license plates. Both men sustained injuries to their heads…Read more

Ugandan editors charged over presidential age limit stories

Two Ugandan newspaper editors were quizzed by the police's Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) over age limit budget stories. On 16 October 2017, Daily Monitor Executive Editor, Charles Odoobo Bichachi and Red Pepper Deputy News Editor Kintu Richard were quizzed for over three hours each. They were both charged with 'Offensive Communication/ Libel' and a General Inquiries File was opened. Daily Monitor lawyer James Nangwara described the charges as "malicious only meant to put the media off track" while the Red Pepper Legal Officer Byamukama Dickens told HRNJ-Uganda that the charges were baseless and…Read more

Car bombing kills Malta journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities in Malta to swiftly ensure justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia, a prominent blogger killed today. The car that Caruana Galizia was driving exploded near to her house in Bidnija, in the north of the island, media reported. Caruana Galizia, who reported on government corruption and the Panama Papers, told police two weeks ago that she had received death threats, according to Malta's national broadcaster TVM, which did not provide further detail. The journalist's blog, Running Commentary, which included investigative reports and commentary on politicians, was…Read more

Three Cameroonian journalists charged with criminal defamation

  • Posted on October 17, 2017
  • /Under Legal
The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Cameroonian authorities to immediately halt the prosecution of three journalists after a judge on October 9 changed the charges against them mid-trial. Authorities on October 28, 2014, originally charged the journalists with "non-denunciation" for failing to disclose information and sources to the state that could harm national security under Article 107 of Cameroon's Criminal Code, according to CPJ research. During the October 9 military court hearing, the trial judge charged Félix Cyriaque Ebolé Bola, the sub-editor of the daily Mutations; Baba Wamé, a journalist and…Read more

Pakistani journalist faces terrorism and defamation charges for article critical of regional government

Authorities in Pakistan should drop charges against journalist Shabbir Siham, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region summoned Siham for a hearing on October 7 on accusations of fabrication and extorting a regional minister in violation of Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act, according to news reports and to Saeed Ahmed, the manager of the Islamabad-based Journalist Safety Hub, which provides support and training to at-risk journalists. He also faces charges of defamation under the Pakistan Penal Code, the reports said. According to the news site Dawn, Gilgit-Baltistan…Read more